skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Wednesday, February 12, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

As Elon Musk looks on, Trump says he's giving DOGE even more power; Officials monitor latest AR bird flu outbreak; NV lawmaker proposes new date for Indigenous Peoples Day; NM lawmaker says journalists of all stripes need protection; Closure of EPA branch would harm VA environment.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A court weighs the right of New York City noncitizens to vote in local elections, Vice President Vance suggests courts can't overrule a president, and states increasingly challenge the validity of student IDs at the ballot box.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Medical debt, which tops $90 billion has an outsized impact on rural communities, a new photography book shares the story of 5,000 schools built for Black students between 1912 and 1937, and anti-hunger advocates champion SNAP.

Poll: Rural voters want candidates to put workers first

play audio
Play

Monday, October 14, 2024   

Rural voters in Colorado and across the U.S. tend to be swing voters, and may decide the outcome of this year's presidential election.

Their biggest concerns are the economy, threats to democracy, and abortion - according to a new Rural Democracy Initiative poll.

Sarah Jaynes - executive director of the initiative - said these voters want elected leaders to make lowering costs and increasing wages for working people a priority, not cutting taxes for the rich or deregulating corporations.

"They're very focused on working people as kind of the heroes of the economy, and concerns that impact working-class people," said Jaynes. "Rural people and small town folks are more likely to be working class. About 70% of rural folks are working class."

Seventy-one percent of rural voters agreed with the statement: "True patriotism is protecting the freedom to live our lives as we choose."

Just 23% agreed that "patriotism is about preserving a traditional way of life." The poll was conducted between August 28 and September 8 in ten battleground states.

Nearly eight in ten rural voters are firmly against banning abortion. Jaynes noted that's the same number pollsters saw in a similar survey in March.

"They either said that they were against abortion themselves, but didn't think that the government should control a woman's choice in the matter," said Jaynes. "Or they just thought that abortion should be legal."

The poll shows Donald Trump with an 18% lead over Kamala Harris among likely rural voters. But that is down from a 26% lead in March, before Harris announced her campaign.

Jaynes said the big takeaway for both major parties should be that rural voters want to see worker-centered policies.

"People want to make sure that they have the tools and the opportunities to create a good life for themselves and their families," said Jaynes. "And that shows up in their support for child care and health care."



Disclosure: Rural Democracy Initiative contributes to our fund for reporting on Environment, Health Issues, Rural/Farming, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
With the inclusion of workforce certificates and certifications, Ohio's overall rate of educational attainment has increased by 18.1% since 2009. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

According to research from Lumina Foundation, the rate of U.S. high school seniors seeking higher education is on the upswing. Although Ohio student …


play sound

Lawmakers in Michigan have introduced a package of bills designed to lower costs and expand health care access. Senate Bill 3 would create a …

Health and Wellness

play sound

As winter drags on with a recent rare burst of snow across North Florida, many Floridians struggle with seasonal affective disorder. It is a form of …


Southern sea otters only inhabit about 13% of their former range and remain absent from the Oregon coast. (Dhayes/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

The push to reintroduce southern sea otters to greater sections of the California and Oregon coast is getting a big boost from a $1.56 million grant f…

Social Issues

play sound

By Nina B. Elkadi for Sentient.Broadcast version by Judith Ruiz-Branch for Illinois News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service …

The Environmental Protection Agency said excess nitrogen and phosphorus cause an overgrowth of algae in lakes and if algal blooms occur, the toxins they produce can be harmful to human health and aquatic life. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Minnesota is giving its water quality standards a fresh look. With public input in their hands, officials are under pressure to add language about …

Social Issues

play sound

Nevada's only sitting Indigenous legislator has introduced a bill to recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day on what she calls the "correct day," the second…

Environment

play sound

The Trump administration has started dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency's office dealing with reducing environmental harms to minority an…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021